What it's like to work at Bridgewater as a Software Engineer, and why I left after two years

This is a reflection of what it's like to work at Bridgewater as a Software Engineer and why I only stayed for two years. A brief reflection on my time at Bridgewater Associates as a Senior Architect in Engineering.

Timeline:
1:20 - Disclaimer
1:57 - What drew me to BW
3:17 - The Dot Collector
7:44 - The benefits of radical transparency
8:40 - Principles
10:01 - Meaningful relationships

==============

I've worked over the past 20 years as an engineer at companies like Google, Snapchat, Postmates, Bridgewater, Square and received offers from many more great companies.

If you'd like for me to go into detail on anything or discuss another topic, please leave a comment or reach out on Twitter!

#AlwaysBeCoding #SoftwareDevelopment #CareerAdvice

Follow me:

"What it's like to work at Bridgewater as a Software Engineer, and why I left after two years"

[defpearlpilot]

Fellow bridgewater alumnus that’s gone on to work at Ray’s Principles company. I agree with a lot of what you mentioned which is why I decided to go to principles. And also, Fair to Midland is such an underrated band!

[StyleTrick]

Recently stumbled across your videos and needless to say, they are top quality content and the advice you give are one of a kind!

[StartYourOwnLife]

if being a software architect wasn't enough, David's also an accomplished pianist! I'd love to see more of that =)

[poplach]

This story definitely inspires, and what you've shared about having notes about each other that one shouldn't take personally is really a very good way to improve yourself! Thank you!

[prakash_]

Great video. All the best for your future odyssey.

[sbstorage]

Such invaluable insight 😃Bridgewater, TwoSigma, these r dream firms! U dont have a college degree, n you’ve been climbing the ranks 💪🏻👌🏼 truly inspirational my dude! Thank you so much for sharing, it helps us up n comers see what its like where we aspire to go! God bless n keep going

[benjaminbaffoe]

Mr. Byttow, I really appreciate your honesty and the excellent advice to carry for life. Kudos to the Bridgewater team for inspiring change in people. Looking forward to reading the "Principles" by Mr. Ray Dalio. Wishing you well and be of good cheer

[pecelirovucago]

David, so glad to meet you!

I am from Fiji 🇫🇯 a developing country for many many years..
Thanks.

[Abhishek-dptc]

Please put videos more often and for intermediate software engineers

[savagecub]

Peer reviews were fairly common in the military. I don’t know if they still are though.

[explodestudios]

Insightful! Without going into too much detail, how did you feel about their tech stack and the types of problems you were solving on a day to day basis?

[sv]

Any advice for a college student looking to get into Bridgewaters investment engineering program? Also, do you have a LinkedIn? Great video!

[tottiegod]

Damn dude. I am interviewing with BWater now. Fully remote. :-(

[samatbryan]

Whats the compensation for SWE at bridgewater compared to prop shops like hrt or jump?

[Kedoink]

Great video, out of interest was your 2 year non compete not enforced or was it only finance related firms you couldnt apply to?

[liaopeng]

Hi David nice video, I am just wondering from Ray's book he said they have used AI to help them of make decisions, what is that software? or they built that software? is this confidential info? I am not saying to use their software, what am I saying can I use the same software and apply my algorithm into it.

[srhyaekuau]

That building to the left looks like giant robot showing its back behind that beige building.
The white part is the head, blue spikes are the side antennas, blue part is shoulders, red part are the biceps and triceps, blue part under that is the left hand.

Anyway cool video but wasn’t really informative other than there’s radical transparency and it’s hard to swallow. Perfect to stop internal politics.